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Health & Fitness

Musings on hosting a high school International Exchange Student

Read about my adventures in hosting international exchange students w/ AFS. As we say in AFS, it's not right, it's not wrong-it's different! www.afsusa.org - check it out!

Hello Brookhaven neighbors!

My name is Ruth.  This is my first blog post. Ever.

But, I hope not the last.

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I have been volunteering and hosting with AFS Intercultural Exchange programs for the past 5 years.  I am hosting again this year - two bright young high school students from Pakistan and Indonesia - they will attend Chamblee High School for the year.

Glutton for punishment?  Who would voluntarily ELECT to have a house full of teens? What do you do in your "spare time" (or do you have any!)???

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Well - no, me, and (believe it or not) I do  - would be the answers in order.

Why do I do this?  

There is all that stuff about world peace, making the world a better place, connecting one person at a time.  Well - that is all true.  Each connection we make in this world has ripples that we can never know.

But, where does all that motivation fit in at 11 pm that night when you have spent the evening talking to your homesick student, filled out a jillion forms to keep your registration current according to Department of State rules, done laundry, yelled a couple times to get the dishwasher unloaded, and had to run to Target to get last minute supplies for the school project due the next day, and still need to answer one or two emails for work?  

That world peace notion flies out the window.  But - what is left is an incredible satisfaction that you are not the center of the universe, and you are doing amazing things to help someone have the best year of their young life so far, almost 10,000 miles away from family and friends, and step by step - you are building another branch of your family tree - grafted and growing - that will stay with you for a lifetime if you are lucky.

I have hosted for the full school year (2 years ago), and since then been a "halfway house" for students who's host family situations changed during the year, and needed to be placed in a different family - those stays come in spurts - couple days, one week - a month or two - all depending on the circumstance.  I have come to know and like/love students from over 20 different countries in this wide world.  I have had the honor to visit with some of their parents - both here and in their home countries.  I treasure the AFS volunteers that I work with in Atlanta - over 75 volunteers, all with the same passion and heart for these students and families - and the amazing intercultural learning and growth that happens each hosting year.

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